Last night, when I should have been catching up on endless piles of homework and studying for my impending midterms, I decided to blow it all off and play on the internet- just for a little while. Well, a little while turned into almost two hours once I discovered a video documenting the first year of a new teacher. What an informative, terrifying, motivating and enlightening little piece of cinema that was!
It followed a first year teacher through her new teacher training, planning, first day with students, meeting parents, observations, school at various points in the year, new pregnancy (yes, what a surprise that was for her to have an unexpected pregnancy thrown in there!) It reminded me that no amount of preparation can really calm the nerves and jitters of that first year.
I became so engrossed in her nervousness just watching it that I was relieved when I was able to float back in my body and remember that I still have 2+ more years to prepare for that moment.
This girl seemed like such a good teacher, but she ultimately ended up leaving the profession for a while to stay at home with her baby. There was a lot of talk throughout the film about teacher retention and how many new teachers don’t make it in the field because it just wasn’t what they were expecting. This girl was certainly not disillusioned, in fact she reminded me a lot of myself. She was also fortunate enough to have an extremely supportive school district. I couldn’t believe the extensive support network and resources provided to new teachers. I can only hope I am so lucky as to have that support my first year!
I just can’t help but wonder why she left teaching though? I suppose that much of it has to do with being a new mother, and maybe that is what gets to me- since I am waiting to have kids myself until after I finish my degree. Will I also feel this way? From my perspective now, I know I need to work in order to help pay the bills, and I have always thought teaching will provide me with much more time with my kids than my current career, since I will have holidays and breaks that coincide with my childrens'schedule. But will this practical thinking get tossed out the window once I hold my own baby for the first time? Maybe age has something to do with it. The girl in this video is only 23, where I am several years older and would like to get moving with my career before its time to retire (and while I still have time to save for retirement!)
And speaking of parenting, I also have a new teaching anxiety- parents. I am sure that as I get to know some of the parents, this anxiety will dissolve a bit, but as district taxpayers, they all will essentially be my boss, and on top of that, the most precious person in their life will be in my care. I don’t know, but I think parental anxieties might trump all my other anxieties at the moment! I am trying to think of some things I could do before starting to teach where I will get some experience communicating with and working with parents in an educational setting. Any suggestions? Would tutoring give me this opportunity? Or maybe volunteering to help out with local school events?
I am glad I stumbled upon this video though; I hope I can find some others like it. It gave my the inside perspective that I am always looking for. If there are any other ELED students reading this, I highly recommend watching this documentary for a very candid representation of what to expect that first year.
To me, my first year of teaching wasn't as stressful as the years that followed it. I think it's because I didn't know how much more I should have been doing. I've been teaching now for over eight years and the stress isn't getting any better. I think part of my stress comes from always trying to improve my teaching. When we change our teaching, nothing really stays the same from year to year. After six years of teaching I started working on my master's degree. It was during this time that I decided to take time off from teaching. While I finished my master's degree integrated teaching through the arts, I subbed and had a long term position at a private school. I looked for other job opportunities that involved working with kids (like developing programs for the art museum or science center) but they all paid about $13 an hour and would require me to work summers. So when I finished my master’s degree it was back into the classroom for me. I've been back for almost two years now and it's been okay. I like teaching, but I don’t love it. It’s still too stressful, but I just try to focus on the positive aspects of the job (while still keeping an eye out for other options!) Sorry if this sounded like a complaint session, your post just got me thinking about my own experience! Thanks for the recommendation on the documentary. I look forward to checking it out.
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www.pigtailedteacher.blogspot.com
No need to apologize, I appreciate your honesty- I need to hear it! Sometimes I get tired of reading about how wonderful and rewarding teaching is because I know that its not perfect and its a tough, stressful exhausting job but it helps to hear what its really like because then I know what I am getting myself into. Thanks for being real!
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